What Motivates Generation Z in Vietnam to Purchase Organic Food? An Application of Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour

Abstract

Objective - As Vietnam is a densely populated country with stable economic growth and rising concern for environmental problems in recent years, people are increasingly showing more interest in organic food. This study aims to explore the purchase intention of Vietnamese Generation Z (Gen Z) towards organic food. Methodology - We extended the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with three specific pro-environmental factors that are health consciousness, environmental concern, and knowledge of organic food, to investigate the purchase intention of Gen Z. A self-administered online survey was conducted in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City as they are most populated cities in the country. Findings – 426 valid responses were received for data analysis after three months. Linear regression analysis was run in SPSS software to test six hypotheses. Research findings reveal that attitude has the most substantial influence on the purchase intention of Gen Z, followed by health consciousness, subjective norms, and personal norms. Notably, environmental concerns and knowledge of organic food do not necessarily affect Gen Z’s purchase intention. Our findings suggest that related stakeholders in the organic food market adjust their production and marketing tactics to attract Gen Z better. Novelty – The novelty of this paper is attributed to our effort to integrate pro-environmental variables into the TPB to test their impact on organic food purchase intention in a new research context of a transition country. Type of Paper: Empirical JEL Classification: M31, M59. Keywords: Organic food, Purchase intention, Generation Z, Vietnam Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Nguyen, P.M; Phan, B.T; Hung, T.H; Luu, T.M.N. (2024). What Motivates Generation Z in Vietnam to Purchase Organic Food? An Application of Extended Theory of Planned Behaviour, J. Mgt. Mkt. Review, 9(1), 13 – 26 https://doi.org/10.35609/jmmr.2024.9.1(2)